Garden High
by Ixidor Alucard
Summary: Squall, a 14 year old boy, is accepted to Balamb High, a school where his old friends from the orphanage, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and even Seifer greet him with open arms. He lives with his best friend Zell in his house. Better summary inside
1. Chapter 1: Enrollment

**The town of Balamb, a peaceful, quiet town by the sea, home to the wonderful Balamb Inn and one of the best high schools in the world, Garden High, where students such as Squall Leonhart learn about life, friendship, and love. Enjoy, and R&R please**

Chapter 1: Enrollment

Balamb was a small town. Everyone knew each other, and whenever something new happened, everyone found out about it almost simulteanously. An example was when Quistis Trepe, a young girl, had run away from home. About an hour after she left, the entire town was looking for her, and that probably saved her life. She had tried to run through the forest and had run into a T-Rexaur when a few of the neighbors found her.

The little town had heard about a brilliant new student from an orphanage in Centra, and for that reason many eyes were on the 14 year old boy walking down the street. The brown-haired boy walked uneasily; he didn't like being the center of attention. He was accompanied by a young woman who couldn't have been more than 25. They reached the entrance to Balamb High, and the boy stopped.

Edea Kramer looked over at Squall. "Come, Squall." He looked at the main office. It was a small building, situated between another office and what he guessed was a building where classes were held. It was painted sky blue, apparently to go with the whole ocean theme all of Balamb seemed to have. He walked on; he had already been talked into it, and he couldn't back out now.

"But, Matron, I don't like Balamb very much." Squall said quietly.

Edea looked at Squall, surprised. "But, Squall, we agreed it was best for you to go to a real school, get a real education. And your friend, Zell Dincht, is very excited about having you come to live with him." Squall looked around. He had been at the orphanage too long. All his friends had come and gone. It was true that out of all the friends Squall had kept in touch with, Zell was by far the friendliest. He would tell Squall everything about his day, and he never stopped talking about his new parents. But if he was so excited to see Squall again, why wasn't he here to greet him?

"I...I don't want to leave the orphanage. I want to stay with you and Mr. Cid. Please, Matron?"

Matron looked at him, and smiled. "It's okay to be nervous about going to a new school, Squall. But look at the bright side, all your friends are here. How lucky is that? And this is a very good school. You'll be happy here, I know it." He nodded. Zell, Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, even Seifer were all at this school. He looked foward to seeing them again. She took his hand and they walked into the office together.

The registration process was faster than Squall had expected. He had filled out a form (with Matron's help) and the secretary was very nice to him. She introduced herself as Lily Tilmitt.

"My daughter Selphie is a student here, and she's been talking about seeing you again. She's looking foward to it, and if you ever need help with anything you can ask me or her." she laughed. "She would be a better bet, she's more involved in this school than I am." Squall smiled shyly, but he couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Just how many people knew he was coming here? He signed the bottom of the form and she gave him a copy. "Welcome to Balamb High." she said.

Afterwards, Edea led Squall to a small house almost right next to the Inn. She knocked on the door.

"Whatever it is you're selling, we're not interested!" a boy shouted.

"Zell, you fool, don't you remember? Mrs. Kramer and Squall were coming today!" a woman's voice said.

"WHOA! That was today?" the boy's voice asked incredulously. Steps pattered across the floor and the door flew open. Squall looked at a young boy, with a tattoo on his face and blond spiky hair.

"Hey, Squall!!" Zell exclaimed, and he shook hands with Squall.

"Man, it's great to see you again!!"

Squall smiled and said, "Hey, Zell. It's been a while." A hefty woman with a blue bandanna over her head and a white apron walked up behind Zell.

"Mrs. Kramer! It's good to see you again." she looked down at Squall. "And this must be Squall."

As they shook hands, Squall said to her, "Thanks for letting me stay with your family, Mrs. Dincht."

Mrs. Dincht laughed. "Oh, just call me Ma. Everyone else does. Titles make me feel old." Squall nodded. "Well, go show Squall his new room, Zell," Ma Dincht said. "You'll be sharing a room with Zell." she explained. Squall grabbed his bag and he followed Zell up the stairs to his new room.

Ma Dincht looked at Edea. "You raised him well. He seems like a polite, nice young man."

Edea smiled sadly. "And yet he has so much to learn. That's why he's here. I know that high school will teach him so much more than math or science."

Edea stayed for dinner. Ma Dincht cooked a succulent chicken, and Zell and Squall ate hungrily. As Edea and Ma Dincht caught up, Zell asked Squall if he knew anything about Garden High. Squall shook his head.

"Well," Zell said between mouthfuls, "Garden High was declared the top school in grades last year. It's really exclusive, and it's hard to get in unless you're a Balamb resident. We have a great weapons program, too."

Squall blinked. "And?"

"Nope, that's it." said Zell.

Squall looked down at his chicken. "Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All Zell." he muttered.

"Hey, no problem!" Zell exclaimed, missing the sarcasm.

As they finished their food, Edea looked at her watch and said, "Well, thank you very much for the meal, but I have to catch the train to Centra, so I have to go." She rose to leave. Squall got up to leave with her, but Edea said, "But, Squall, don't you remember? You're going to stay here." A lump formed in Squall's throat as Edea walked out of the room. She was halfway through the door to the house when Squall ran and threw himself at her.

"I don't want you to leave," he said sadly, "Matron, don't go." Edea looked at him, at his eyes, which, for the first time in his life, showed fear and sorrow. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry, Squall." she hugged him tight. He held onto her, as though he were hanging on for dear life. But she pulled away, and she walked out the door. "Good-bye, Squall. I love you." Her voice broke, and she ran down the street, leaving behind the only child she had always taken care of, the one who had never left, the only one that truly felt like a son.


	2. Chapter 2: Homeroom

**A/N: So, to recap, Squall's been enrolled in the prestigious Garden High, and he's now living with Zell and his family. After a tear-filled good-bye, Edea leaves Squall. And now, Chapter 2, R&R please**

Chapter 2: First Day

Ma Dincht's voice rang out through the whole house. "ZELL!!! SQUALL!!! WAKE UP, IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!!!" Squall moaned. He got out of bed and wiped his eyes. He hadn't slept much; he had cried himself to sleep around one. He started changing clothes and looked at Zell's sleeping body.

"Uh, Zell, wake up," he said. Zell snorted. Squall frowned. This wasn't getting anywhere, and if they didn't hurry they would be late, and Squall didn't want that to happen. "Zell!" he threw a pillow at him and knocked him out of bed.

"Hey!" Zell got up quickly, and looked around. "Man, you got to let me get some sleep!"

"No time," Squall said as he put on a clean white shirt, "We're going to be late."

Zell smiled. "Oh yeah, today's the first day of school!"

Squall shook his head. Zell seemed to forget everything.

Zell looked across the wall at the clock. "Oh damn, we ARE gonna be late!" He put on his clothes hastily and ran down the stairs. Squall put on his black jacket with the fur collar. He grabbed his gunblade case and his backpack and went down the stairs after Zell. He saw Zell stuffing his mouth with some toast. Ma Dincht greeted him.

"Hi Squall, come have breakfast, but hurry because you two are going to be late if you don't hurry up." Squall grinned. Everything looked great. He spread some homemade jelly on his toast, and the tangy taste of the jelly went great with the crunchy toast. He crammed it down and ran after Zell, who was already out the door.

"See ya, Ma!" Zell yelled to his mother. Squall waved to her, and ran down the street after Zell.

Squall and Zell walked into the courtyard. Squall looked in wonder at the enormous school. Students were milling around the courtyard, and some were heading to their classes.

Zell looked at his watch. "We got here with two minutes to spare!" He smiled and elbowed Squall, "Not bad, huh?"

Squall shrugged and said, "I guess."

Zell took out a slip of paper. "Come on, we both have 262 for homeroom." He pointed to one of the buildings, the one closest to the offices. "We call that the old building; it's the first one that was built, and a lot of classes are held there. 262 should be on the second floor." As they walked up the stairs, Zell eyed Squall's gunblade case and asked, "Man, why did you bring that thing?"

Squall shrugged. "I got in here because of my skills with a gunblade, so I thought it would be a good idea."

Zell stopped Squall. "262, here it is."

They walked in, and a man said, "Hey guys, come on in and take a seat." They sat down together, and the man smiled. "I'm the teacher here, the name's Laguna Loire."

Squall looked at the man. He didn't look like a normal teacher. He had long black hair, and he wore a clean white shirt under a dark blue jacket. He wore long brown pants, and leaned against the board. He had a casual air about him. He looked around. "Looks like everyone's here, so I guess I'll call roll."

He grabbed a sheet of paper and started calling out names. Squall looked around at every kid when Laguna called their name, and saw that Irvine and Selphie were in his homeroom as well. He couldn't wait to talk to them again. When everyone had been present and accounted for, Mr. Loire grinned and threw the paper in the trash.

"Ok guys, welcome to Balamb High. All of you are freshmen, right? This is your basic Weapons Training class. As you can see, I'm not an ordinary teacher. I think that kids have to have fun to learn, not spend all their time studying and being bored out of their minds. Thus, I came up with my own way of teaching, one that's more relaxed and focuses on learning things hands-on rather than studying." He looked around. "Does anyone have any questions?" A black-haired girl raised her hand. Laguna nodded to her. "I won't remember any of your names the first day, so you'll have to humor me. Your name?"

The girl shifted uneasily in her seat. "R-Rinoa Heartilly, Mr. Loire."

Laguna smiled at her. "Call me Laguna. I figure if I get to call you by your first name, you should call me by mine. And don't worry, there's no need to be nervous."

She smiled shyly. Squall noticed that she seemed a lot prettier when she smiled. "I wanted to ask, is this the only class we're going to have, or...?"

"Oh, no, you guys have a few other classes," Laguna replied, "In fact, I have your schedules somewhere around here..." He fumbled through his desk. "Found em! Okay, you guys go to your second period in about 10 minutes, so I don't have that much time to teach you anything..."

He passed out the schedules. "Just try not to get in any trouble, and stay away from Principal NORG. You don't want to get sent to his office." Squall looked at his schedule. There were six classes printed on it, along with the names of the teachers and the room numbers.

**Student: Squall Leonhart **

**Class/Teacher/Room #**

**Period 1: Weapons Training/Laguna Loire/262 **

**Period 2: History/Adel Figera/239**

**Period 3: Study Hall/Micheal Caraway/330**

**Period 4: Sciences/Ward Zabac/263**

**Period 5: Lunch/Cafeteria**

**Period 6: Mathematics 2/Kiros Seagill/261**

Zell peered over at Squall's schedule. "Hey, sweet, we have a lot of classes together. Hey, wait, Mathematics 2? I thought the freshmen started out with 1." He looked at his own schedule. "Come to think of it, I got 1."

He looked at Squall, puzzled. "Think it's a mistake?" Squall was about to answer when Laguna walked up between them.

He sat on Squall's desk and said, "Hey guys, I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure was a fascinating conversation, but I'm trying to talk, and I just hate when someone's talking over me." He looked over at the two of them. "So don't, alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Loire." they said in unison.

"That's Laguna to you guys," he said. He started walking around the classroom.

"Ok everyone," Laguna said, "We have 5 minutes before you go see your next class, so I want all of you to get to know each other a little better. Part of working in a team is knowing who you're working with, so I want you to get in groups of 5. You can push your desks together if you want."

Everyone started running around, and Squall and Zell were about to push their desks together when Laguna said, "Hey, you two! You guys seem to know each other pretty well already, so go find separate groups."

Zell scowled and walked off to find another group. Squall looked around; it seemed all the groups were set. He noticed the girl that had introduced herself as Rinoa hadn't found a group either.

"Hey, you two!" a voice said. Squall turned around and saw a group of three. "We need two more people, come on!" He nodded and sat down next to them. Rinoa did the same.

The speaker wore a grey trenchcoat that seemed way too big for him, and he had short blond hair. Squall did a double take.

"Seifer?"

Seifer's eyes widened in recognition. "Hey, it's Squall!" he said with a grin. They shook hands.

Rinoa looked surprised and asked shyly, "You two know each other?"

Seifer grinned. "Yeah, me and Squall here used to live at an orphanage a while back. Oh yeah," Seifer nodded to the girl sitting next to him. "This is Fujin," the girl nodded, "And Raijin." the boy on the opposite side of Seifer shook Squall's hand.

Squall looked at them. Fujin and Raijin were nothing alike; while Fujin had white hair and wore sunglasses, Rajin was a tall brown-skinned boy.

Squall looked over at Rinoa, and saw her clutching her binder nervously in her hand. Her schedule was hanging out of her binder, and Squall saw, in bold black ink, Rinoa's schedule. He realized that they had almost every class together, even Mathematics 2. However, she was taking a class called Advanced Sciences.

_Whoever she is, she's obviously very intelligent, _Squall thought to himself.

Seifer followed Squall's eyes, and, with a raised eyebrow, spoke to Rinoa.

"So, who are you?" he asked. Rinoa blushed and looked away.

"I'm Rinoa, I moved here from Deling City. My dad got a job teaching here, so here I am." Seifer grinned at her.

"Interesting," he said. The bell rang shrilly.


	3. Interlude: The Worst Morning Ever

**A/N: I am so sorry everyone, I haven't had time to work on this story, but it's definitely NOT discontinued, so keep reading and reviewing. New chapters will be up soon. OK, so hopefully this poem about Squall's morning will tide you over for now...Sorry everyone, I'll have new chapters soon **

The Worst Morning Ever

The boy woke with a start.

He glanced at his jet black digital clock, and did a double take.

He had woken up an hour late.

If he hurried, he might still make it to school.

He hurled himself out of bed, and threw his uniform on.

He threw all his schoolbooks into his backpack,

the bulging blue pack protesting loudly.

He swiped a piece of toast; he would have to eat it on the way.

Why hadn't his clock woken him up?

He fumbled with the hard chain on his trusty blood-red bike

And flew out of the driveway, pedaling furiously.

As he pulled out of the apartment complex and onto the road,

he realized he must only have a few minutes.

He stuffed the crusty, cold toast in his mouth;

He made it to the threshold of the school

And to his horror saw the front doors were bolted shut.

He banged at them, the rusted bars creaking and groaning

And in his frustration asked the guard at the entrance why he couldn't enter

And the guard told him it was Saturday.


	4. Chapter 4: Irvine, the Irresistable ?

**A/N: Chapter 3 finally up ! Sorry it's taken a while, school and stuff had left me little time to think, let alone write. Many thanks to all my reviewers, especially Zephyr-Wings, who's reviews inspired me to start this story back up again with a passion, and please R&R everyone, I appreciate any views you guys might have.**

**To recap, Squall's off to check out the rest of his classes, after reuniting with his old pals Zell and Seifer and meeting Laguna Loire, his laid-back homeroom teacher, and Rinoa Heartilly, a fellow student with intelligence to rival Squall's own. And now, Chapter 3**

Squall walked down the corridor. He consulted his schedule. Room 239...he looked at the room he was walking past.

315...?

Where the hell was he?

A young blond girl was walking past him. Her hair flowed down past her shoulders, and she had bright-green eyes hidden by clear glasses. Maybe she would help him. He turned and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, can you help me get to room 239?" he asked timidly. The girl turned around.

"Sure, it's over by..." she looked him in the eyes and gasped.

"Squall?!"

Squall nodded, a bit taken aback by this girl. _How does she know my name...?_

"Oh, Squall, it's so good to see you again!" she hugged him, to his surprise.

"Don't you remember me?" she asked, as though shocked. "It's me, Quistis!"

Squall's eyes widened. "Quistis?! Wow, it's great to see you again."

She smiled at him. "Same to you, Squall. We should catch up, I want to hear about what's happened since I left the orphanage."

Squall nodded. "Sure, but I have to find Room 239, can you help me?"

"Sure," replied Quistis, "It's down the stairs and to the left, I'll help you get there."

Squall smiled. "Thanks, Quistis," he said as he walked with her down the stairs, "You seem to know your way around the school pretty well."

"Well, I should," replied Quistis, "It's my second year here."

_That's right, she's a year older than me and Zell..._Squall smiled at her, "Oh yeah, I had forgotten..."

"Well, here it is," Quistis said, "I have to get to class, I'll see you soon!"

Squall nodded, and went into class.

Squall left Garden High after his first day of school fairly happy. He really liked the school; the teachers were alright, maybe a bit crazy, but nice. And he had seen so many old friends. He had Zell and Irvine for almost every class, and the trio became fast friends.

Squall, Irvine, and Zell walked home together, Zell talking animatedly about his classes and the new friends he had made. He had also mentioned, blushing, this girl he had met at the library.

"...so then I started talking to her, and I was surprised to hear she's always at the library. She even has a class there, where she's kind of like a librarian. Cool, huh? And, get this," Zell said, nudging Squall, "I think she likes me!"

"That's cool. So, what's her name?" Squall asked.

"Oh, that's easy, it's..." Zell's jaw dropped. "I forgot to ask what her name was!!"

"So, we should just call her Library Girl?" Irvine said, laughing insanely.

Squall sighed and walked on as Zell hung his head in shame, and Irvine continued laughing.

"So Squall," Irvine said, wiping a tear from his eye, "How are you doing with the ladies?"

Squall shrugged and said, "The girls here are nice. No one out of the ordinary."

"See anyone you like?" Zell chimed in.

"Hmm..." Squall thought for a second, and a vision of Rinoa entered his head, "I guess that Rinoa Heartilly girl. You know, the one we had for a few classes?"

"Rinoa Heartilly..." Irvine thought for a second, "Nice choice, Squall! Smart, pretty...Yeah, she's definitely a keeper."

"You talk to her much?" Zell asked.

Squall remembered talking to her while they were with Seifer, and later in the afternoon, she had dropped her books. He had run over to help her, and offered to carry them the rest of the way, since they had their next class together anyway. She had smiled and thanked him, but that was about it.

"No...not really..."

"So, Irvine, how about you? Do you like anyone right now?" Zell asked, sensing Squall didn't want to talk about Rinoa anymore.

Irvine looked shocked. "Don't you know who I am, Zell? I'm the Irvine, the Irresistible! There's not a single girl that doesn't like me, and if she's pretty enough, I might like her back enough to ask her out." He nudged Squall and said, "And I've got my eye on Selphie, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean," Squall asked, "What _do_ you mean?"

"Well, uh...hmm...it's really very simple..." But Irvine found no answer, so he fell silent for the rest of the walk.

"Ma, I'm home!" Zell shouted, walking into the house, Squall and Irvine in tow.

Squall turned to look at his new friend. "Don't you have to, you know, go home?"

"Ouch," Irvine said, "You sure know how to be friendly. Anyway, don't worry about it. My mom doesn't get home till, like, 7. So I figure I'll hang here with you guys."

"That's cool," Zell said, looking in the kitchen, "MA!"

"Maybe she's at work..?" Squall asked, rolling his eyes.

"Nah, she gets back a few hours before we do...ah! There's a note here!" Zell said, clutching it in his hands, and holding it up to the light.

_Zell, Squall, I went out for groceries. Try not to burn the house down._ _-Ma_

"Well, there it is," Zell said, throwing the note away, "What do we do now?"

"We've got the house to ourselves. What CAN we do?" Squall asked.

Irvine smiled mischievously. "Well..."

"D'ya know something, I don't even want to know what you had in mind," Zell said, "This is MY place and I'm not taking the heat for whatever you want to do!"

"Letters…" Squall exclaimed, picking some up, "Bills….bills….Zell….Irvine? Why is your mail here?"

"Whoop!" Irvine yelled, grabbing the magazine out of Squall's hands, "That's just a little something I'd rather not have MY parents see, if you know what I mean."

"Hey! I could get in trouble for that!" Zell shouted.

"Relax, I always look through your mail before your mom gets to it."

"That's supposed to make me feel BETTER?" Zell said, clenching his fists, "I should-"

"SO, Squall, there's something here for ya. From the school!" Irvine interrupted, hiding behind the taciturn youth.

"Hmm? For me?" Squall took the envelope, ripped it open, and began reading the letter.

_Squall Leonhart, _

_Congratulations! You have been accepted into Garden High. _

"Well, not much use for that NOW," Zell said, reaching for the letter to throw it away.

"Hold on, there's more," Squall muttered.

_You have been accepted due to your exceptional weapons skills. Thus, you should know that SeeD training begins after school, on the third day of school. _

"Day after tomorrow," Zell said in awe, "Squall, you're going to be in SeeD?!"

_You will be placed with the rest of the cadets. Keep in mind that SeeD is a magnet program, and failing to comply with SeeD curriculum could result in expulsion from the program and the school. _

"So, you're only in Garden High as long as you're a SeeD as well? Harsh…" Irvine chimed in.

_We hope that your experience in SeeD as well as in Garden will be a great one. Have a great school year! – SeeD Program Director and Vice Principal, Cid Kramer_

"Damn. Squall, sounds like it won't be easy. What with SeeD training and practices, not to mention homework and studying…I've heard it's tough." Zell exclaimed.

Irvine looked at Zell. "Then there's only one thing we can do, isn't there?"

Zell and Squall looked at him, confused. Irvine looked shocked, and continued on, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world:

"We all gotta join SeeD together!"


End file.
